Connecting elements for non-positively connecting two wall components are known from prior art. For the wall components, the so-called drywall represents the most common wall type for the interior construction of buildings. A drywall can be erected with the help of a substructure consisting of roof battens or the like, or of metal profiles (metal studding) or wooden stands (wood studding) with various building panels. Building panels can consist of OSB panels (with or without insulation), chipboards, MDF panels and plasterboards (GKB according to DIN EN 520), earlier referred to as gypsum board panels, without tongue and groove. Depending on the configuration, such a drywall can satisfy the different requirements. For example, plasterboards for erecting a plasterboard wall are placed on top of and/or next to each other with their narrow sides, and fastened to one of the aforementioned substructures consisting of wood or galvanized steel profiles. The wall components can be fastened to a substructure using various fasteners, for example plasterboard staples or plasterboard nails, but advantageously using a screw fastening. The plasterboards are fastened to a substructure with screws using so-called drywall screws (e.g., plasterboard screws with bugle head) as self-tapping sheet metal screws. The joints of the plasterboards placed against each other and the screw heads are filled with putty to form a smooth surface, and then sanded. DIN 18182 lists the accessories needed for connecting such wall components made of plasterboards, such as the drywall screws, brackets and nails. However, it does not contain other connecting elements.
In order to assemble the relatively large formats of the plasterboards, whose standard width measures between 600 mm and up to 1250 mm, whose standard length measures between 2000 mm and up to 4000 mm, and whose standard thickness measures between 9.5 mm and 25 mm, use is made of the various aforementioned connecting elements from prior art, industry and trade. Craftsmanship is essential when fastening such wall components, since the fastening points, i.e., the brackets, nails and/or drywall screws, are no longer to be visible once a wall has been completed on the one hand, but the screws can be pulled through a plasterboard given thin walls on the other. In addition, a bracketed, nailed or screwed connection between a plasterboard and the substructure does not constitute a non-positive connection, so that more fasteners must be placed. However, hiding all fasteners completely is thus often unfeasible on the one hand, and associated with significant costs on the other. If a bracket, a nail and/or a drywall screw has in turn penetrated too deeply or even penetrated almost all the way through a plasterboard on a longitudinal and/or transverse edge, the edge of the plasterboard can easily break, because the fasteners must also be arranged directly on the narrow longitudinal and/or transverse edges of the plasterboard. In addition, the installation or assembly of especially large-surfaced plasterboards is impossible without a second person in the joining process. The fastening of wall components is even more disadvantageous during assembly if a substructure cannot be secured in the edge area of the wall components or wallboards because of a structural incident. For example, the lack of bolting capacity results in subsequent defects. The wall components laid on top of and/or next to each other on the narrow sides form joints at the laid out locations, which are filled with putty after assembly. If the fasteners are absent in the edge area of these joints for lack of a substructure, expansion cracks can arise on these joint seams. In addition, the wall components are very unwieldy owing to their size, and are thus not laid out and fastened or installed alone.
To further simplify the assembly of wall components, DE 7313323 U hence discloses a bracket for the concealed fastening of panels. However, assembling a panel requires that the brackets be fastened to the substructure beforehand by means of screws or nails. Only after the brackets have been secured to the substructure can the panel be pushed between the legs of the U-profile of the bracket. Such a bracket can also be designed as an elongated, double-T-shaped profile, the T-leg of which must again be fastened to the substructure for accommodating a panel. The disadvantage to this embodiment for brackets is that the later can only be used in conjunction with a substructure, and that it is often difficult and time-consuming to secure the individual brackets on the mounting rail, which is most often already fastened to the wall, and above all to arrange these brackets at a desired location. However, as soon as a substructure is not available at the connection points of the panels, the brackets cannot be inserted or used. Because a non-positive connection between neighboring wall components does not exist, expansion cracks can arise on the joints. Another disadvantage lies in the fact that a wall component can be inserted into the U-shaped opening of the bracket only after a bracket has been secured to the substructure.
To improve usability, DE 297 03 632 U1 thus proposes a retaining and compensating element for accommodating wall covering parts, which can be easily secured to the substructure. However, even this embodiment for a bracket or connecting element with a U-profile for accommodating a wall component has the disadvantage that it can only be used in conjunction with a substructure. It here also holds true that a non-positive connection between neighboring wall components does not exist in the absence of a substructure in the edge area of the wall components, so that expansion cracks can arise on the joints. Another disadvantage lies in the fact that such retaining and compensating elements are not suitable for accommodating a wall component on both sides. Another disadvantage lies in the fact that a wall component can be inserted into the U-shaped opening of the bracket only after a bracket has been secured to the substructure.
For this reason, DE 2004 012 417 U2 describes U-shaped connecting pieces for connecting two wall components with two panel-shaped legs lying opposite each other and a panel-shaped web that connects the two legs, wherein the web has connection means. The connection means make it possible to assemble two identical, U-shaped connecting pieces to form a new connecting piece, which thereby assumes the shape of an H. For example, if a craftsman wished to connect two, three or four wall components with each other, he or she can assemble two U-shaped connecting pieces, so that they form an H-shaped connecting piece that is suitable for accommodating two wall components. It was disadvantageously found that such connecting pieces are not suitable for joining together plasterboards with a thickness of 9.5 mm to 25 mm, because the webs are essentially too wide to accommodate such narrow building panels given the arranged tabs and bulges. Another disadvantage is that, owing to the two webs abutting against each other and their bulges and tabs, the distance between two abutting building panels, in particular plasterboards, becomes too great.
Another example for such a connecting element or connecting piece can be found in publication DE 203 04 627 U1, which is regarded as most obvious prior art. This system does without fasteners such as screws and nails, but does require different connecting pieces for the various intended applications. U-shaped connecting pieces are normally used in the edge area of a drywall, for example in the area of the floor and/or ceiling of a room, while H-shaped connecting pieces are used in other areas of the drywall. DE 203 04 627 U1 discloses connecting pieces for joining wall components that have two building panels with insulation material arranged between the latter, wherein the connecting pieces are U- or H-shaped in design, i.e., have opposing panel-shaped legs a panel-shaped web that joins the legs. The connecting pieces are designed in such a way that the panel-shaped legs can be introduced into the area between the building panel and insulation material, making it possible to put together several wall components to yield a drywall in this way. In particular connecting pieces with a double-U shape are suitable for this purpose. Visible on FIG. 3 is an offset, double-U-shaped connecting piece, several of which according to FIG. 5 are used on the ceiling of a room in an arrangement for fastening two wall components. These connecting pieces join the wall components together. In such an arrangement comprised of at least two wall components that are joined together by one or several connecting pieces, with neither the building panel nor the material having a recess to accommodate connecting pieces, the wall components consisting of at least two building panels are provided with an insulation layer arranged between the building panels. Such a wall component is referred to as a composite panel, and thus has a specific thickness stemming from the two building panels and above all from the insulating panel. The connecting piece is configured in such a way that it can encompass an insulating panel, as visible on FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. The disadvantage to this embodiment is that the connecting piece is not suitable for assembling individual wall components on the narrow sides, in particular plasterboards, for assembling a plasterboard wall. These connecting pieces can only be used given a double paneling with an interspersed insulation layer, because a connecting piece encompasses the insulating material at the edge on the one hand, and is inserted between the two wall components, in particular the plasterboards, on the other. A fixed connection between the wall components and a connecting piece is only established when using drywall screws.